Adjustable skylight



June 0, 1967 0. P. JOHNSON ADJUSTABLE SKYLIGHT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 13, 1964 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS June 20, 1967 D. P. JOHNSON 3,325,951

ADJUSTABLE SKYLIGHT Filed July is, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I\% 3 OR I D VlD D. IQHNSQN Ill/mm. 1

WasmFBMAQzJ Mme ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,325,951 ADJUSTABLE SKYLIGHT David P. Johnson, Knoxville, 'llenn., assignor of twelve and one-half percent to C. Reginald Perry and twelve and one-half percent to Samuel D. Cooper, both of Knox County, Tenn.

Filed July 13, 1964, Ser. No. 382,154 8 Claims. (Cl. 5286) This invention relates generally to skylights and more particularly to a novel flexible skylight construction capable of fitting roof openings of a range of sizes with a skylight cover member of but one size.

A major problem encountered in the building industry with the construction of skylights on buildings is that while a certain size of skylight may be specified in the building plans, when it becomes time to install the rigid frame skylight a proper fit cannot be obtained. In most cases the roofing contractor is call-ed on to finish the skylight construction after the roof opening has been already provided with the associated skylight curb in place. Generally the building contractor will install the curb with its outer measurements corresponding to those called for in the finished skylight construction. When the roofing contractor arrives upon the job the skylight opening must have normal roof flashing installed around the periphery of the curb and secured to the roof in the normal manner to provide the necessary weatherproofing. However, after the flashing has been installed the outer measurements of the curb have grown somewhat larger than the measurements specified for the entire skylight. With this in mind it is obvious that a rigid-frame skylight will not possibly fit upon the oversized curb, and when this happens the roofing contractor is forced to remove the curbing and reconstruct it.

Therefore, an object of this invention is the provision of an adjustable skylight which may be adjusted for proper size to fit a finished roof skylight opening.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an adjustable skylight having a flexible transparent cover member that may be shaped to a desired curvature at the time it is installed about a finished roof skylight opening.

Another object of this invention is the provision of skylight having adjustable end closure panels to mate with various arched cover member curvatures thereby providing a weather'tight construction.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a skylight having a flexible transparent cover member and adjustable end closure panels which may be easily placed upon a prepared roof opening in addition to having the necessary qualities of being simple in manufacture, of low cost and providing ease of transportation.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing only a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a skylight contemplated in the present invention with parts of the skylight broken away to illustrate the internal arrangement thereof;

FIGURE 2 is a section view of the skylight taken on lines 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a partial vertical section light taken on lines 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a partial exploded perspective view of the skylight with portions broken away showing especially the relationship of the side closure panels with respect to other parts of the structure;

FIGURE 5 is a partial section view showing only the details of the juncture of the flexible skylight with the curb taken on lines 55 of FIGURE 1; and

view of the sky- FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary section view similar to FIGURE 5 but illustrating a modified construction.

Referring to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures, the skylight of the present invention is denoted generally by the reference character 10. The skylight 10 comprises a flexible plastic sheet material cover member 11 which is preferably a thermal plastic acrylic resin of clear or white translucent properties to allow the desired amount of light to enter through the skylight. The flexible cover member 11 should obviously be of such thickness and strength to support a designed load without the possibility of failure. The skylight 10 is adapted to be placed over a roof opening generally indicated by numeral 12 about which is formed a curb 13 on all sides to permit the skylight 10 to be placed thereon. At the juncture of the curb 13 with the roof structure 14 is an elongated triangular shaped cant strip 15 which provides a proper slope immediately adjacent the curb 13 to permit the rapid dispersal of moisture that may tend to collect upon the roof about the skylight 10.

As is normal, roof flashing 16 is placed about the entire periphery and external face of curb 13 and extended in a unitary manner over the cant strip 15 and then extended generally parallel to the roof structure 14 a suflicient distance to be integrated into the roof structure itself. Normally the flashing 16 is integrated to the roof structure 14 by a composition roofing material or in some cases by built-up roofing material 17 which provides complete weatherproofing qualities to the juncture of the flashing 16 with the roof structure 14.

Aflixed to the flexible cover member 11 along two opposite edges are unitary condensation gutter and support frames, generally indicated by numerals 18a and 18b, each of which are identical in construction. The combination gutter and support frames 18a, 18b are each formed of elongated U shaped channel members 19a, 1% having parallel legs which flank both surfaces of the cover member sheet 11 for a distance adjacent the ends thereof and encompass the adjacent edge of the sheet material 11. Extending inwardly toward the center of the skylight from the inner leg of the U shaped channel members 19a, 1912 are condensate gutters 21a, 21b having at their free ends an upturned gutter lip 22a and 22b to provide a trough shaped cross-section so as to maintain any accumlated condensate within the gutter. The combination condensate gutter and support frames 18a, 18b are secured to the cover member 11 by suitable fasteners 23 which preferably are rivits extending through the sheet material 11 and both sides of the U shaped channel members 19a, 1915.

To provide the angular disposition of the channel members 19a, 19b and to help provide the correct curvature to the skylight flexible sheet cover member 11, there are provided spacers 24a, 24b of truncated wedge shaped configuration, each of which will have a length normally extending to the outside measurement of the adjacent curb 13. Each spacer 24a, 24b has a plurality of elongated screw slots 25 which provide the spacers with the ability to be adjusted vertically with respect to the curb 13 in order to provide the desired curvature to the cover member 11 in a manner to be discussed hereinafter.

The flexible sheet cover member 11 and the spacers 24a, 24b are aflixed to the curb 13 by means of suitable screw fasteners 26 which project through suitably registered apertures in both legs of the U shaped channel members 19a, 19b and adjacent portions of cover member 11 lying within the support frames. In addition, the screws 26 0 also project through the elongated screw slots 25 in spaces 24a, 24b and thence into the curb 13 to securely fasten the cover member 11 thereto.

Once the cover member 11 is in place and curved to a degree suflicient for the skylight to per-formits intended function, the open segment-shaped areas between the lateral edges of the arched cover member 11 and the portion of curb 13 that lies immediately beneath must be closed to complete the skylight. To close these lateral open segment areas, there is provided for each such open segment area an adjustable side closure 27 of generally circular segment configuration formed of a pair of relatively adjustable closure halves 28, 29. The base of each closure half is provided with a cut-way portion 31 which is designed to closely fit about the condensate gutters 21a, 21b. Along the bottom edge of the closure halves are located a plurality of screw apertures 32 through which screw fasteners 32' are inserted to secure the closure halves to the curb 13 at such time as proper fit is obtained between closure halves and the cover member 11. To maintain the closure halves 28 and 29 in fixed relation with the cover member 11, a U shaped end closure cleat 33 is aflixed to the interior of the cover member v11 and located near each side of the arched cover member whereby the closure halves 28, 29 are held against lateral displacement relative to the cover member 11 by the downwardly projecting arms 33a, 33b of the cleat which are adapted to flank the closure halves when in place.

The closure halves 28, 29 are designed so that when the skylight is in place over a roof opening and curbing of correct size, there will be a certain amount of overlap between the closure halves at the center of the segment shaped side openings. However, the degree of overlap of the end closure halves 28, 29 depends directly upon the amount of arch in the cover member 11 which in turn varies directly with the finished size of the roof opening and the curbing placement.

The procedure for installing the present skylight upon already installed curbing is to place one end of the cover member 11 upon the curb 13 in the proper manner as has been described. For the purpose of the description let it be assumed that the first end of the cover member 11 to be placed in position is the end having integral therewith the combination condensate gutter and support frame 18a. The gutter 21b would first be placed upon the top face of curb 13 and positoned as far inwardly toward the skylight opening as possible so that the juncture of the gutter 21b and the U shaped channel member 1% lies adjacent the outside peripheral edge of the curb 13. At this point, the spacer 24a is inserted between the support frame 118a and curb 13 in the manner more fully shown in FIGURES 2 and 5. To firmly mount the combination gutter and support frame 18a in position, the screws 26 are inserted through their respective apertures within the support frame 18a and the registered apertures in the cover member 11 and thence inserted through the elongated screw slots 25 of the spacer 24a. The screws 26 would then be driven into the curb 13 to a point where sutficient looseness is left so that spacer 24a may be later positioned in the plane to give the degree of arch to the cover member 11 that may be needed.

When the one end of the cover member 11 is fastened in position, it is merely necessary to flex the cover member 11 in the manner shown in FIGURE 2 and bring the combination condensate gutter and support frame 1% into proper position at the opposite end of the skylight opening and position it on top of the curb 13 in the same manner as has been described for the previously secured end of the cover member 11. This necessarily involves placing spacer 24b between channel member 1% and curb 13 and then securing these parts in fixed position by means of screws 26 driven into the curb. Such a procedure of flexing the sheet cover member 11 over the skylight opening produces a symmetrical curvature for the arched cover member and requires only that the spacers 24a and 24b be moved'in such a manner that they substantially fill the wedge shaped cross sectional area between the channel members 19a and 19b and the adjacent curb 13 at which 4 time it is only necessary to tighten the screws '26 in order that the cover member 11 is secured to the curb 13. At this time, only the open sides below the arched cover member are uncovered and, therefore, it is an easy matter to position the side closure halves 28, 29 in the proper manner to close the side openings to the weather.

Upon inserting the side closure halves, the cut-away portions 31 are positioned in conjunction with the gutters 21a and 21b and then each side closure is inserted Within the cleat 33 which maintains the side closures in proper vertical position. If it is desired to Weatherstrip the cover member 11, a suitable gasket 35 may be placed between the side closures and the cover member to prevent the entry of moisture to the interior of the skylight. Once the side closure halves 28, 29 are in proper position, the screw fasteners 32 are placed through apertures 32 and are driven into the curbing 13 to maintain the side closure halves in a permanent position. Each closure half 28, 29 has been elongated somewhat to provide a certain amount of overlap at the juncture of the side closure halves so as to compensate for any variation in the size of the skylight opening. .While the side closure halves are said to be adjustable, it should be noted that in actuality the side closure halves are automatically adjusted to fit the arch of the cover member 11 when cutaway portions 31 are placed within the gutters 21a, 21b.

This properly locates the side closure halves and it is then merely necessary to position them in a vertical plane to fit closely adjacent the cover member 11 wherein no further adjustment of the closure halves should be necessary.

It will be apparent that the condensation gutter and support frame portion of the assembly need not be constructed precisely in the manner hereinbefore described. One exemplary variation is illustrated in FIGURE 6, wherein the condensation gutter is formed as a separate extruded member indicated by the reference character 21 adapted to be aflixed to the curb 13 by suitable fasteners, and the support frames for the flexible cover member 11 are each formed of. a pair of extruded strip members 36, 37, secured to the flexible cover member 11, for example, by pop rivets 38. The outer strip member 36 may have an acute angle profile as shown while the inner member 37 may have a lower mounting flange portion 39 adapted to be aifixed to the side of the curb 13 by screws, surmounted by an acute angle portion conforming substantially to the configuration of strip member 36 providing an outwardly projecting horizontal web 40 which is perforated to provide drip openings and an inclined portion 41 adapted to parallel the corresponding portion of strip member 36 and abut the under surface of the flexible cover member 11.

The foregoing description has shown a new and novel skylight construction in which a roofing contractor may compensate for any relatively small differences in the size of the finished skylight opening and curb and the sizes called for in the construction specifications. Such a novel construction as is embodied in the present skylight obviously has advantages over the previously known rigid dome skylights.

While I have particulary shown and described one particular embodiment of the invention, it is distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but that modifications may be made within the scope of the in closure means positioned between the arched sheet and the curb wherein a unitary weatherproof structure is maintained.

2. In a skylight for covering a building opening surrounded by a curb, a skylight covering comprising a flexible plastic sheet formed over the building opening in an upwardly arched convex configuration providing open segment shaped side areas, securing means for adjustably fastening the sheet along two opposite marginal edges thereof to the skylight curb to conform to variations in the dimensions of the skylight curb, said securing means including a substantially U shaped channel attached to to each of said marginal edges of said sheet with a flanged condensate gutter extending inwardly from each channel, and variable length adjustable side closure means positioned between the arched sheet and the curb wherein a unitary weatherproof structure is maintained.

3. In a skylight for covering a building opening surrounded by a'curb, a skylight covering comprising a flexible plastic sheet formed over the building opening in an upwardly arched convex configuration providing open segment shaped side areas, securing means for adjustably fastening the sheet along two opposite marginal edges thereof to the skylight curb to conform to variations in the dimensions of the skylight curb, said securing means including a U shaped channel member having parallel legs flanking both surfaces of the flexible sheet along said marginal edges to encompass each marginal edge, the channel members each having a flanged condensate gutter extending inwardly to rest upon the curb to provide support to the flexible sheet, and variable length adjustable side closure means positioned between the arched sheet and the curb wherein a unitary weatherproof structure is maintained.

4. In a skylight for covering a building opening surrounded by a curb, a skylight covering comprising a flat flexible plastic sheet adapted to be formed over the building opening in an upwardly arched convex configuration providing open segment shaped side areas, means for adjustably fastening the sheet along two opposite marginal edges thereof to the skylight curb to conform to variations in the dimensions of the skylight curb, the two opposite marginal edges each having a substantially U shaped channel member having parallel legs flanking both surfaces of the flexible sheet and to encompass the adjacent edge thereof, the channel members each having a flanged condensate gutter extending therefrom, a spacer positioned between each channel member and the curb for movement adjacent the curb in a vertical plane to vary the effective spacing between the channel member and the curb, and variable length adjustable side closure means positioned between the arched sheet and the curb wherein a unitary weatherproof structure is maintained.

5. In a skylight for covering a building opening surrounded by a curb, a skylight covering comprising a flat flexible plastic sheet formed over the building opening into an upwardly arched convex configuration providing open segment shaped side areas, means on the flexible sheet adjustably securing the sheet along two opposite marginal edges thereof to the skylight curb to conform to variations in the dimensions of the skylight curb, the two opposite marginal edges each having a substantially U shaped channel member having parallel legs flanking both surfaces of the flexible sheet and encompassing the adjacent edge thereof, the channel members each having a flanged condensate gutter extending inwardly therefrom, the condensate gutters resting upon the curb to provide support to the flexible sheet, a spacer of truncated wedge shape configuration positioned between each channel member and the curb and adapted to be moved adjacent the curb in a vertical plane to vary the effective spacing between the channel member and the curb, and adjustable side closure means positioned between the arched sheet and the curb wherein a unitary weatherproof structure is maintained.

6. In a skylight for covering a building opening surrounded by a curb, a skylight covering comprising a fiexible plastic sheet formed over the building opening in an upwardly arched convex configuration providing open segment shaped side areas, means for adjustably securing the sheet along two opposite marginal edges thereof to the skylight curb to conform to variations in the dimensions of the skylight curb, and adjustable side closure means positioned between the arched sheet and the curb, the side closure means being of generally circular segment configuration and comprising interfitting closure halves located at each open segment shaped side area, and being adjustable parallel to the top of the curb toward and away from said marginal edges so that a unitary weatherproof structure is maintained.

7. In a skylight for covering a building opening surrounded by a curb, a skylight covering comprising a flexible plastic sheet formed over the building opening in an upwardly arched convex configuration providing open segment shaped side areas, means for adjustably securing the sheet along two opposite marginal edges thereof to the skylight curb to conform to variations in the dimensions of the skylight curb, and adjustable side closure means positioned between the arched sheet and the curb, the side closure means being of generally circular configuration and comprising longitudinally relatively movable closure halves located at each open segment shaped side area to vary the overall length of said closure halves to effect closure of open side areas of variable lengths to provide a unitary weatherproof structure.

8. In a skylight for covering a building opening surrounded by a curb, a skylight covering comprising a flexible plastic sheet formed over the building opening in an upwardly arched convex configuration providing open segment shaped side areas, securing means for adjustably fastening the sheet along two opposite marginal edges thereof to the skylight curb to conform to variations in the dimensions of the skylight curb, said securing means including a substantially U shaped channel member having parallel legs flanking both surfaces of the flexible sheet and to encompass the adjacent edge thereof, the channel members each having a flanged condensate gutter extending inwardly therefrom, the condensate gutters resting upon the curb to provide support to the flexible sheet, a spacer of truncated wedge shape configuration positioned between each channel member and the curb for movement adjacent the curb in a vertical plane to vary the effective spacing between the channel member and the curb, and adjustable side closure means positioned between the arched sheet and the curb, the side closure means being of generally circular segment configuration and comprising interfitting closure halves located at each open segment shaped side area, the closure halves being adapted for selective longitudinal adjustment with respect to one another to effect closure of the open side areas wherein a unitary weatherproof structure is maintained.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,870,549 8/1932 Abt 52-72 2,270,202 1/1942 Persson -88 2,743,659 5/1956 Peters 160-88 3,047,983 8/1962 Wasserman 52-72 3,134,198 5/1964 Calthorpe 52-72 3,241,273 3/1966 Struben 52-94 3,253,857 5/1966 Deisenroth 52-72 FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

RICHARD W. COOKE, JR., Examiner. R. A. STENZEL, Assistant Examiner. 

8. IN A SKYLIGHT FOR COVERING A BUILDING OPENING SURROUNDED BY A CURB, A SKYLIGHT COVERING COMPRISING A FLEXIBLE PLASTIC SHEET FORMED OVER THE BUILDING OPENING IN AN UPWARDLY ARCHED CONVEX CONFIGURATION PROVIDING OPEN SEGMENT SHAPED SIDE AREAS, SECURING MEANS FOR ADJUSTABLY FASTENING THE SHEET ALONG TWO OPPOSITE MARGINAL EDGES THEREOF TO THE SKYLIGHT CURB TO CONFORM TO VARIATIONS IN THE DIMENSIONS OF THE SKYLIGHT CURB, SAID SECURING MEANS INCLUDING A SUBSTANTIALLY U SHAPED CHANNEL MEMBER HAVING PARALLEL LEGS FLANKING BOTH SURFACES OF THE FLEXIBLE SHEET AND TO ENCOMPASS THE ADJACENT EDGE THEREOF, THE CHANNEL MEMBERS EACH HAVING A FLANGED CONDENSATE GUTTER EXTENDING INWARDLY THEREFROM, THE CONDENSATE GUTTERS RESTING UPPON THE CURB TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO THE FLEXIBLE 